KHSAA changes soccer overtime rules
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Board of Control has approved revised overtime procedures for boys and girls regular-season and postseason games beginning next season. Here are the details from a KHSAA press release:
“For regular-season seeded district matches, any contest that is tied after regulation will go to a pair of five-minute sudden victory periods. If the winner has not been determined by then, the two teams will then go to penalty kicks to determine a winner.
“For regular-season tournaments where teams advance through bracket play and a winner must be determined for subsequent play, the two teams will go directly to penalty kicks at the conclusion of regulation.
“All other regular-season contests will continue to end with ties.
“For postseason matches, any contest that is tied after regulation will go to a pair of five-minute sudden victory periods. If the winner has not been determined, the two teams will then go to penalty kicks to determine a winner.
“The final decision was made following an extensive survey of principals from the association’s soccer playing member schools.”
Under the old rules, all regular-season games ended in ties except those played as part of in-season tournaments. Postseason games could play up to 30 minutes of overtime before penalty kicks decided the outcome.
“After consulting with our membership, this decision should allow for a more uniform way of ending contests and may also reduce the amount of late night travel on school nights, something that had become a cause for concern among administrators and parents,” KHSAA assistant commissioner Michael Barren said in the release. “By adopting these standard procedures, we think this will be a win-win for players, coaches and fans alike.”
